Rob Beschizza

PSPGo in stores today

I'm a fan of the semiotics of silly names for colors. What do "ceramic white" and "piano black" say? Classiness?

PSPGo Available Now [Playstation]

Rob Beschizza

PSP Go reviewed and ripped apart

Sony's renovated Playstation Portable gets its public debut, and performs as expected: it is a smaller, better, less UMD-ey gaming gadget. Ross Miller calls it a sturdy, classier game system but chokes on the mean-spirited marketing gamesmanship that Sony will never, ever realize is bad for its image. "Needless to say, there's still no second analog stick" adds Mark Wilson, who finds its charms dated by newer tech like the ZuneHD.

iFixit provides the most interesting coverage, as usual, splaying the machine's insides out for the world to see and understand, a tableux that our future robot masters will doubtless cite in their condemnation of mankind. On the other hand, maybe it is merely an exercise waiting to be recapitulated as art.

Rob Beschizza

Gameboy innards

Inside DMG [Drop 1410's Flickr via Gameovr] (Also see the awesome Gameboy camera photos)

Rob Beschizza

KONG vs. New York reincarnated in flash

Man, these games sucked.

Rob Beschizza

Rare Nintendo Othello game

Described by its seller, Nat, as "awesomeness incarnate," this ancient and evil example of arcade tech does not, regrettably, boot up.

it boots sorta, red led's power up etc, but no image or sound. I suspect there is a problem in the interface to the 1970s era b/w tv that is inside as a monitor.

Its appeal, however, remains: it's claimed to be a hitherto unknown version of Nintendo's first ever arcade game.

Final ebay of the day, promise!

Lisa Katayama

Three new App store games worth checking out

At the Apple announcement today, Jobs invited several game makers up on stage to introduce some cool new App store games that exploit unique features of the iPhone/iPod Touch. Here are my three favorite examples:

1. Madden NFL 10
EA's oh-so-popular football game is finally available at the App store. Cool feature: you can draw plays with your finger on the screen and then watch your fave team execute them.

2. Nova
Gameloft's first-person-shooter pits you against aliens in a mission to defend humanity — if you play it on your iPhone or iPod Touch, you can set your sniper mission to your choice of music.

3. Riddim Ribbon
Tapulous, the company behind Tap Tap Revenge, is a new rhythm racing game. Tilt the phone to follow a race track and bust out remixes of Black Eyed Peas songs.

Rob Beschizza

PNY offers lifetime warranty on graphics cards

PC peripheral maker PNY is offering a lifetime replacement warranty on its high-end video cards, and promises no guff:

The lifetime warranty kicks in once the original purchaser registers on PNY.com. When we say lifetime, we mean just that. So in 2015, when your GTX 260 has a defective part, then we'll replace it for the current comparable graphics card. ... the replacement would definitely be for a comparable model, and I'm certain by 2015 it will actually be an even better graphics card.

A layman's reading of the terms is enough to ascertain that you should not overclock or otherwise modify the card ("altered in any way that affects its performance"). You also pay for shipping and need the receipt.

The deal is good for the pricey GTX 295 1792MB, GTX 285 1GB, and GTX 275/GTX 260 896MB models. [PNY]

Rob Beschizza

Things to know about the PS3 Slim

Gizmodo offers 10 things you need to know about the PS3 Slim. Now, "need" is pushing it, yes. I'm not sure anyone needs to know you can use your Bravia remote control to control the PS3's XMB interface. But still, a good list! The new version is a mostly a downgrade from the standard model--Giz writes that there's no Linux, half the number of USB ports, and no PS2 emulation at all.

Rob Beschizza

How Sony sneaked the PS3 slim into the public FCC database

Sony used a pseudonym, "Sand Dollar Enterprise Inc.," to obscure its PS3 slim filing at the FCC. It worked, keeping the thinner revision a perfect secret, visible in plain sight, right up until the reveal. PS3 News was first to spot the ruse, after the fact:

Sand Dollar Enterprise, Inc is represented by SCEA's General Council, Riley Russell.

This house is actually a private residence, but whomever lives here filed the documents with the FCC, most likely on the behalf of Sony, as they would be much harder to find with a different FCC ID (XCE) than that of Sony (AK8).

The filing reveals a second unit, with a 250GB hard drive.

Filing [FCC via PS3 News]

Photo: PS3 News

Rob Beschizza

Behold! Slim PS3

Sony unveils slimmer PS3: $300, lands in September [Engadget]

Rob Beschizza

Miniature Neo Geo

Pocket Lucho worked on his cabinet design for months: it contains a real Neo Geo board, a 5" LCD display, and controls gutted from a cheap TV game. Isn't it cute? [Elotrolado via Gizmodo and Hack A Day]

Steven Leckart

Gallery: Forget Cell Phones, Give Me Wearable Computing!

Experiencing augmented reality doesn't have to be as easy as holding up a cell phone. Through the years, researchers have dreamed up and constructed hardware that is either totally cool or utterly ridiculous (sometimes both, depending on whom you ask).

The above funglasses from Lumus Optical suggest you can view email, SMS and video games "inconspicuously during meetings."

Because no one would ever question why you're wearing huge black sunglasses indoors.

Needless to say, I'll give it up that there are practical applications for this hardware (exploring a city, viewing Google Maps, etc.). Plus, it's pretty clever:

Lumus' patented, revolutionary Light-guide Optical Element (LOE) [ed. note: 2-3mm thick] comprises a flat, transparent optical substrate that incorporates a set of embedded partially reflecting facets. The upper figure illustrates the LOE function. An optical image, generated by a microdisplay (e.g. LCD, LCoS or OLED), is coupled into the LOE substrate. Trapped by total internal reflection, the image components are guided along the LOE. The image is then expanded and coupled out by a set of partial reflectors for viewing by the user. The LOE provides the viewing experience of a large distant screen: an enlarged, distant image, with a large field-of-view (FoV).

After the jump, check out some other AR projects, old and new, which require you to look less like an iPhone fanboy and more like a cyborg...

[Lumus via MedGadget]

READ THE REST

Rob Beschizza

Review: GP2X Wiz runs retrogaming rings around mainstream rivals

GP2X Wiz, available from ThinkGeek, is a handheld gaming console about the size of a pack of slim cigarettes. It has a 533/800MHz processor, a 320x240 2.8" AMOLED touchscreen display, 1GB of internal storage and an SD card slot. A tailored cut of the Linux operating system boots in about 15 seconds.

The latest in a series of handheld gaming consoles made by Korea's GamePark, the GP2X Wiz differs sharply from mainstream competitors like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Whereas those machines incorporate strenuous measures to stop people writing their own software, the Wiz is completely open: anyone can write new applications and software, either in the machine's native code or using Adobe Flash.

While the open architecture means that the GP2X Wiz is unlikely to see official ports of leading titles, GamePark says it plans to release new games at a regular clip. Its heart, however, is in being a perfect platform for playing homebrew games and emulated classics. At $180, however, the latest model is very expensive. Is it worth it?

READ THE REST

Steven Leckart

Apollo Anniversary NYT Puzzles

The NY Times published a set of eight space-themed puzzles to commemorate the Moon landing. The answers will be published tomorrow.

Until then, good luck!

Steven Leckart

Video: The Virtusphere Revisited

Vice Magazine profiles the maker of the Virtusphere, essentially a stationary hamster ball for humans who want to do VR and interactive gaming.

Note: Sorry for the pre-roll ad.

Rob Beschizza

Undead Nintendo

By skadrums71 of the retrotaku fora. [Retrotaku]

Rob Beschizza

XCM Eye Candy Nintendo dsi Case

It comes in kit form for $26, and requires disassembly of your machine. Murder your warranty for fashion! [Divineo via Technabob]

Rob Beschizza

Sony files patent on any-object motion control

Silicon Era uncovers a patent, filed by Sony, for using everyday objects as game controllers.

Sony details a system where a camera can dynamically map an object -- any real world object -- for use in a video game. The illustration has a U shape block, but the patent outlines other example objects "include items such as coffee mugs, drinking glasses, books, bottles, etc." While these are given as examples the object mapping system is not limited to those objects, it can identify any three dimensional object.

Sony Patents A Motion Control System That Uses Ordinary Objects As Controllers [Silicon Era]

Joel Johnson

Felt Playstation is really an iPhone case

An adorable felt PlayStation is really a case for your iPhone, crafted and sold by etsy seller rabbitrampage for just $20. (It's sold out now, but I bet they'll make you another one.)

The PS1 controller keychain is sold separately, but is probably essential. [via]

Xeni Jardin

Puzzle Master Wei-Hwa Huang's Blog Account of "Day in the Clouds"

"Day in the Clouds," The Virgin America + Google in-flight internet gaming competition we published a BB Video piece about today, netted yet another honor for multiple world puzzle championship Winner Wei-Hwa Huang. He's shown above, on our flight, using one of the tools of his win: a notebook. Not the notebook computer, a notebook.

He has an extensive blog post about his experience at the event here, which includes the impossibly awesome phrase "Parallel slave processor friends," used to describe his seat-mates, off whom he bounced thoughts as he sorted out answers.

My favorite part of his post? The lyrics he wrote as an answer for one of the puzzles. You should read the whole entry, because it's rare to read such a subjective, intimate account of how genius prepares for a competition in his field. But, I have to just blog the song he wrote, here:

Enjoy the world
with the day in the cloud
Never be bored
and say this aloud:

Everything is connected
when you live in the clouds
Every line is expected
when you live in the clouds

Everyone can do it
no matter your status
have fun anywhere
while flying through a stratus!

Everything is awesome
when you live in the clouds
Everything and then some
can be found in the clouds

Don't worry so
about problems in flight,
Because you know
Everything's going to be all right!

Day in the Cloud -- Virgin America Flight 921 (Onigame livejournal; image via Virgin America)

Xeni Jardin

(BB Video) Mile-High Gaming with Virgin + Google

(Download / YouTube)

In today's Boing Boing Video episode: our mini-documentary of "Day in the Cloud," a mile-high frag-a-thon aboard two dueling Virgin America planes both eqipped with in-flight WiFi.

During the one-hour flights, bloggers and game dorks played games that required internet connections, to compete for netbooks and pure ultimate leetness over their foes.

Competing on the plane from Los Angeles to San Francisco (named "YouTube Air"): me (Xeni), Rob Beschizza from Boing Boing Gadgets, legendary internet hilarity farmer Ze Frank, web personality Shira Lazar, and Wei-Hwa Huang, former Googler and world puzzle champion.

On the plane from San Francisco to Los Angeles (named "Superfly"): Kid Beyond, singer, beatboxer, and game nerd.

Lessons learned: Google makes it easier to cheat. Absinthe makes it harder to win. WiFi makes flying less boring. Kid Beyond and Ze Frank are very funny. Wei-Hwa Huang is the guy you want on your team in a puzzle competition. And finally, Rob and I should stick to blogging/vlogging, and forget about competitive puzzle-solving.

READ THE REST

Xeni Jardin

BB Video: Day in the Cloud - Google + Virgin America + Boing Boing + netbooks + mile-high networked fragging

(Download MP4 / YouTube)

Google Apps and Virgin America are teaming up for a day of cloud computing in the clouds: "Day in the Cloud," Wednesday, June 24.

Boing Boing will be on board -- me (Xeni), Rob Beschizza from Boing Boing Gadgets, and our friend Jane McGonigal, of Avantgame and Institute for the Future.

In this Boing Boing Video episode, I speak with Porter Gale of Virgin America, and Jen Mazzon, a "digital mom" from Google, about the in-flight game smackdown planned (one plane competes against the other to win a litter of brand-new netbooks), and about how always-connected data experience could change our lives.

Folks at home are also invited to play:

All you'll need is a net connection, a Google Account, and the warm, comforting glow of your computer screen. Become one of the top scorers and we'll set you up with your own personal "Year in the Cloud," complete with a brand-new HP netbook and 1 terabyte of Google Account storage for your photos and mail--all of which will come in handy when you fly free for a year on Virgin America with complimentary WiFi.

Virgin produced a short, funny promotional video for Day in the Cloud which is also worth a watch, below.

Sponsor shout-out

Rob Beschizza

Atari Cart Clocks

Can't Afford Em Crafts describes itself as "two people with a passion for finding clever ways to reduce waste creatively." A part of me finds this Atari abuse horrifying, but let's face it: most of their arcade conversions sucked.

Product Page [CantAffordEmCrafts Geeky Gadgets via CrunchGear]

Rob Beschizza

Needlepoint Space Invader fridge magnets

Rob Beschizza

Damnation station

"Damnation" Timberclad PS3 [Brass Goggles]

Rob Beschizza

"This listing has ended without a bid"

Rob Beschizza

Wii Bowling Ball

Bowling Ball for Wii [CTADigital via Oh Gizmo]

Rob Beschizza

Monster Remote Control

From Monster Cables comes the MCC AV50 Home Theater Controller, a $50 universal remote. [PC Mag]

Wouldn't that 1970s look be great for one of those play-any-ROM retro handheld game consoles?

Joel Johnson

What sort of things are possible if Project Natal works as promised?

Jason Cross:

The possibilities there are huge. They could certainly do object recognition - a game could not only model and mimic you, but could know when you pick up a cup or soda can. At a most basic level, in social networking environments you could have an avatar truly do what you're doing including munching on chips exactly as you do or taking a sip of beer or whatever. At a more advanced level, you could build object recognition into games - literally take a sip of water or whatever you have around (or mime it with an empty cup) to drink a health potion. With that kind of notion as a starting point, imagine what they could do with recognizing other objects. Imagine the real-world and marketing implications of recognizing specific products. Get a bigger energy boost from drinking a Mountain Dew!

Joel Johnson

Logitech Flight System G940

Proper flight sticks are few and far between these days, with an active market—or at least sort of active—for even used models. With flight simulators no longer a major market for videogames, there just isn't as much of a need.

Or is there? Logitech is giving it another go, with a full $300 "Flight System G940" that will launch this fall, completely with a pedals and a dual-split throttle. Expensive for a controller, perhaps, but relatively cheap for a full kit—including force feedback.